The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies: Difference between revisions

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*[[Azog]] isn't present in the books, as he is already dead during the events of ''The Hobbit''.
*[[Azog]] isn't present in the books, as he is already dead during the events of ''The Hobbit''.
*The [[Orcs]] have a watchtower with a construction giving signals.
*The [[Orcs]] have a watchtower with a construction giving signals.
*The huge animals called "[[Were worms]]," which burrow tunnels to Erebor through which the Orc armies travel, never appear in that capacity in any of Tolkien's writings.
*The huge animals called "[[Were-worms]]," which burrow tunnels to Erebor through which the Orc armies travel, never appear in that capacity in any of Tolkien's writings.
*Since [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] is unconscious for most of the battle in the book, most things in the film's battle are invented, such the presence of [[Trolls]], war machinery, and battle rams.
*Since [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] is unconscious for most of the battle in the book, most things in the film's battle are invented, such the presence of [[Trolls]], war machinery, and battle rams.
*At one point in the battle, the women of Lake-town decide to take up arms and fight alongside the men.
*At one point in the battle, the women of Lake-town decide to take up arms and fight alongside the men.

Revision as of 13:49, 2 May 2015

The name Battle of Five Armies refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Battle of Five Armies (disambiguation).


The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies is the third of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit film trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit. It premiered in London on 1 December 2014, and saw release in most of Europe on 10 December and North America on 17 December. It was preceded by An Unexpected Journey in 2012 and The Desolation of Smaug in 2013.

Synopsis

From Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men, women and children of Lake-town.

Obsessed above all else with his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the Lonely Mountain.

As darkness converges on their escalating conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

Plot

Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves watch from the Lonely Mountain as the Dragon Smaug destroys Lake-town. Bard breaks out of prison and kills Smaug with the Black Arrow (brought to him by his son Bain), whose falling body crushes the fleeing Master of Lake-town. Bard - chosen as the new leader - and the people of Lake-town seek refuge in the ruins of Dale. Upon learning of her banishment from the Woodland Realm, Tauriel travels to investigate Gundabad with Legolas (having previously tracked Bolg there).

Upon arriving at Erebor, Fíli, Kíli, Bofur, and Óin are informed by Bilbo that Thorin has been inflicted with Smaug's "dragon sickness" as he searched for the Arkenstone. It is revealed that Bilbo actually stole the Arkenstone from Smaug, but knows it should be hidden from Thorin, who orders the entrance of the Lonely Mountain be sealed off.

Meanwhile, having become a prisoner in Dol Guldur, Gandalf is saved by Galadriel. She carries an unconscious Gandalf into a more open area while being taunted by the Necromancer. Elrond, Saruman, and Radagast arrive to help rescue the Grey Wizard. Gandalf is saved by Galadriel and given to Radagast while Elrond and Saruman hold off the Nazgûl. Sauron appears to them with the Nine at his side. Using the power of Nenya and her Phial, Galadriel takes on the Dark Lord and the Ringwraiths, banishing them out of the fortress. Galadriel falls back fainting as Elrond supports her, realizing she has used her full strength in order to cast him away. Though Elrond believes they must warn the Free peoples of the enemy's return, Saruman tells him to take Galadriel to safety while he deals with Sauron.

Radagast provides Gandalf a horse and his staff before riding to Dale. At that time, Azog the Defiler approaches the Lonely Mountain with his vast Orc army while learning from Bolg that an Elf army under the lead of Thranduil is also approaching. Azog tells Bolg to head to Gundabad and ready their other army. Following Bolg to the fortress of Gundabad, Legolas and Tauriel see Bolg with another army of Orcs and hundreds of war-bred bats. They decide to return to Lake-town to warn the others.

When Thranduil's army arrives in Dale, he forges an allegiance with Bard to claim a necklace of white gems from Thorin's treasure. Though Bard attempts to reason with Thorin to avoid further bloodshed, the stubborn Dwarf refuses to listen, much to his Company's dismay. As they prepare for the battle, Thorin gives Bilbo a mithril vest. Thorin begins to talk like Smaug, telling Bilbo that he will never share the treasure with Bard and Thranduil, not wanting to part with a single coin.

After Gandalf arrives at Dale, Bilbo sneaks out of the Lonely Mountain to hand the Arkenstone over to Thranduil and Bard. Inside the camp, Thranduil reminds Gandalf that he is the one who started all this and he will finish it. The next day, the Elf army and the armed people of Laketown gather at the entrance of the Lonely Mountain. Thranduil and Bard ride at the front, where Thorin threatens to kill them if they get any closer. Bard unveils the Arkenstone at the gates of Erebor and Thorin learns of Bilbo's actions and almost kills the Hobbit. Luckily, Gandalf approaches at the front with Bard and Thranduil, telling Thorin that Bilbo is his to keep. The other Dwarves hold off their leader so Bilbo can escape down the wall to Gandalf. Then, a Dwarf company under Dáin Ironfoot arrives and is about to attack the Elves on Thorin's call, but Azog sends one branch of his army to attack Dáin's force. While Thranduil assists Dáin's army, Azog sends the rest of his forces to attack Dale with Bilbo, Gandalf, Bard, and the other Elves coming to its defense. Gandalf, Thranduil, Bard, and Dain do the best they can to hold off the Orc armies as more and more come, killing more Dwarves, Men, and Elves. Meanwhile, Alfrid takes a pile of treasure and escapes the battlefield, with Bard permitting him to do so.

Inside the Lonely Mountain, Thorin eventually overcomes his madness after a lengthy hallucination. Thorin and Company burst out of the Mountain and join the battle, much to Dáin's delight. While the others aid what remains of Dáin's forces, Thorin rides toward Ravenhill with Dwalin, Fíli, and Kíli in order to kill Azog and send the Orc army scattering. At the same time, Legolas and Tauriel set off for Ravenhill with Bilbo following to warn the Dwarves of the second Orc army. Azog captures Fíli and stabs him in the back before throwing him off of a cliff. Bilbo is knocked out, while Bolg stabs Kíli in the chest. After Legolas kills Bolg, the Great Eagles arrive, led by Radagast and Beorn, to assist in the battle, quickly decimating the Orc army. When Bilbo regains consciousness, he finds that Thorin has killed Azog but was mortally wounded in the process and dies soon after making his peace with the Hobbit. Sometime after, a disillusioned Legolas decides to leave his father's Realm. Thranduil urges him to go North to meet with one of the Dúnedain, a Man who goes by the name of "Strider". Thranduil, after seeing Tauriel kiss Kíli's dead body, finally accepts Tauriel's love for Kíli and agrees with her plan to bury the Dwarf.

Bilbo bids farewell to the surviving members of Thorin's Company, telling them they are welcome to join him for tea whenever they are in the Shire, to which he returns with Gandalf. As they part on the outskirts of the Shire, Gandalf reveals that he knows of the Ring that Bilbo found in the Goblin tunnels (though unaware that it was the One Ring) before they part ways on good terms. Bilbo's story ends when he returns to Bag End and finds the townspeople are auctioning off his belongings and are about to sell his house. The scene transitions to Bilbo on the day of his 111th birthday when he receives a visit from Gandalf, ending where The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring begins.

Cast

See also:The Hobbit (film series)#Cast
Actor Role
Richard Armitage Thorin
Dee Bradley Baker Creature Voices
Erin Banks Lobelia Sackville-Baggins
Timothy Bartlett Master Worrywort
John Bell Bain
Manu Bennett Azog
Nick Blake Percy
Cate Blanchett Galadriel
Orlando Bloom Legolas
Jed Brophy Nori
Adam Brown Ori
John Callen Óin
Billy Connolly Dáin Ironfoot
Benedict Cumberbatch Smaug
The Necromancer
Luke Evans Bard
Martin Freeman Bilbo Baggins
Stephen Fry The Master of Lake-town
Ryan Gage Alfrid
Mark Hadlow Dori
Peter Hambleton Glóin
Miranda Harcourt Olga
Ian Holm Older Bilbo Baggins
Brian Hotter Otho Sackville-Baggins
Stephen Hunter Bombur
Olof Johnsson Creature Voices
Robin Kerr Elros
William Kircher Bifur
Kelly Kilgour Soury
Martin Kwok Ragash (voice)
Christopher Lee Saruman the White
Evangeline Lilly Tauriel
Simon London Feren
Sylvester McCoy Radagast the Brown
Ian McKellen Gandalf the Grey
Thomasin McKenzie Astrid
Graham McTavish Dwalin
Mark Mitchinson Braga
James Nesbitt Bofur
Mary Nesbitt Tilda
Peggy Nesbitt Sigrid
Dean O'Gorman Fíli
Jon Olson Creature Voices
Lee Pace Thranduil
Sarah Peirse Hilda Bianca
Mikael Persbrandt Beorn
Otep Shamaya Creature Voices
Allan Smith Ragash
Merv Smith Tosser Grubb
Conan Stevens Keeper of the Dungeons
Ken Stott Balin
John Tui Bolg
Aidan Turner Kíli
Hugo Weaving Elrond
Debra Wilson Creature Voices

Deviations from the source material

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies covers the final seven chapters of The Hobbit with a few elements added from the Appendices from The Lord of the Rings. While it generally follows the story, a number of liberties were still taken:

  • There is no thrush telling Bard of Smaug's weak point while trying to kill him (having been replaced by the legend that Girion had loosened a scale on the Dragon's breast in the previous film). Also, his son, Bain, helps Bard by getting him the last Black Arrow.
  • The Master of Lake-town dies by Smaug falling on his boat while trying to escape Lake-town instead of of starvation in the desert.
  • The storyline concerning Legolas and Tauriel (who is an original character) both riding to Gundabad where they discover a second Orc army, led by Bolg, is headed to Erebor along with thousands of bats) is invented for the film.
  • As all of the members of Thorin and Company reach the Lonely Mountain in the first place, in the books Óin, Bofur, Fíli and Kíli are not coming to the Mountain later alone.
  • Galadriel does not free Gandalf in Dol Guldur in the books, as he didn't get captured.
  • In the books, there is no hint that the Nazgûl are present at the Attack on Dol Guldur launched by the White Council. Furthermore, in The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf points out at the Council of Elrond that the victory was thanks to the devices of Saruman, while in the movie it is chiefly Galadriel who expells Sauron with her phial.
  • Thranduil wishes to claim a particular Elven necklace of white gems from the Mountain.
  • Gandalf says that Sauron wants to conquer the Lonely Mountain because of its "strategic position". In the books, Gandalf indeed fears that Sauron could ally with the Dragon, but the Dark Lord isn't concerned with the Battle of Five Armies or Erebor.
  • Azog isn't present in the books, as he is already dead during the events of The Hobbit.
  • The Orcs have a watchtower with a construction giving signals.
  • The huge animals called "Were-worms," which burrow tunnels to Erebor through which the Orc armies travel, never appear in that capacity in any of Tolkien's writings.
  • Since Bilbo is unconscious for most of the battle in the book, most things in the film's battle are invented, such the presence of Trolls, war machinery, and battle rams.
  • At one point in the battle, the women of Lake-town decide to take up arms and fight alongside the men.
  • Instead of dying while defending their mortally wounded uncle, Fíli and Kíli are slain by Azog and Bolg, respectively, at Ravenhill before Thorin ever receives such injury.
  • Legolas - not Beorn - kills Bolg.
  • Thorin kills Azog after the pale Orc mortally wounds him.
  • Thorin dies on Ravenhill without Beorn ever taking him to safety.
  • In the book, Orcrist is put in Thorin's tomb by Thranduil. In the film, he receives it from Legolas throwing it at an Orc meaning to kill Thorin.
  • When Legolas informs his father he will not be returning to Mirkwood, Thranduil urges him to find a Man known as "Strider". Thranduil had little to nothing to do with the Rangers of the North in the books, and, during the events of The Hobbit, Aragorn is a mere 10 years old (he was said to be 87 in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers).

Gallery

See also: Category:Images from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Pictures from The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Bard and Legolas  
Gandalf and Bard  
The Company inside Erebor  

Trailers

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See also

External links

Reviews

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Titles and Release Dates Announced" dated 31 May 2011, The Hobbit Blog (accessed 21 December 2011)
  2. "Andy Serkis to serve as Second Unit Director" dated 8 April 2011, The Hobbit Blog (accessed 21 December 2011)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Peter Jackson, "Production begins in New Zealand on The Hobbit" dated 20 March 2011, Facebook (accessed 21 December 2011)

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